5 Mirtul, 1369 DR

Dear Moira,

I hope that I will be able to find a letter from you waiting the next time I see Minna. I could not go today, as evening was drawing in when we returned to the Coronet. It is hard to believe how serene tonight is after the turmoil of the day. These late watches have always helped me smooth over the anger I so often feel, bringing me closer to the Great Guard. But I digress….

Your gentle heart would have been broken by what I saw today. Indeed, I would spare you all of the tale, but that you are the only one with whom I can share it. My few close friends from the Order are either in the field or off on their own journeys. These companions seem pleasant enough, but with the end of the task at hand I do not know if they will wish to continue our association; the agreement was for two days’ trial. I pray they will be pleased with my efforts, for their skill is great… and I am beginning to think that they may be more important than I first believed.

I ran into one of Father’s old drinking partners as I came down the stairs this morn. I believe he had been seeking feminine consolation upstairs, and I saw him too late to pretend not to recognize him. What mattered to me, however, was that after some drunken comments that do not bear repeating, he looked down the steps and saw Patricia. What he said then, eliminating the profanities, was that “that was the poker-faced lass that brought down those whoresons at the Iron Throne--- I saw her a month ago in Baldur’s Gate at the Seven Suns Coster, and those Northern fools could not make enough of her. Now what’s she doing in a pit like this? Gambled it away already?”

My heart skipped a beat at this, Moira. While in Nashkel I had heard some tales from that windbag Volo of a group that had cleared out the mines a few weeks before, and felt it to be a bitter draught that I was not there in time for the deed, though I gave credit to scarce half of all he said had been done. I felt that I must find out something more of these companions of mine. I had thought there were six of them, by Volo’s account. Jan I know is from this city. Can the other three truly be the ones who did such great deeds? Oh, Moira, you alone know how much I long for that kind of glory, not for its own sake, but to be worthy of a place in the Order. Yesterday I spoke a bit of my own deeds to Patricia, and while she was most kind, she must have been laughing at how pitiful they sounded in comparison to her own, if but part of the tale be true.

Yet the first thing out of her mouth this morning was a request that I tell her how best to pass on a message to another member of the Order! She held up a letter, saying that she needed urgently for it to reach the Waterdeep Chapter House. I realized then that Father’s friend was right. I have never seen a woman with so ambiguous a face. It is always serene, even in battle. Her mask is perfect, and frankly, sister, I envy her control. Mother must have had something of the same gift, to live so long with Father in peace. I made her some answer, but the issue was driven from my mind by the breathless arrival of a very young woman.

Red-haired and scarce more than a girl, I yet thought she looked familiar. When she gave her name as Nalia de’Arnise, I knew why; she has her father’s features and coloring. Lord de’Arnise has always been known as a just man; I have often heard Sir Ryan speak of him with respect, and thus Lady Nalia’s tale was the more distressing. Indeed, I cannot think of her story without being glad that you are safely at home here in the City, where the Guards are ready to hand.

It seems that her family’s hold west of Athkatla has been attacked by some kind of monsters. Lady Nalia herself was apparently near a secret passage, and fled by it when the invaders first appeared. Gaining a horse from one of the nearby farms, she rode here at once to seek aid. What evil this may be I do not know, but she was desperate to find aid, and such tasks are what I breathe for! Yet I had given bond to Patricia for two days’ service, and we had unfinished work here. Ah, to think that only two days ago I was bemoaning my inability to find any task fit for the honor of the Unsleeping One! My faith should have been stronger.

You may well imagine how I waited with bated breath for Patricia’s decision. She took counsel with all of us, and no one seemed to be against the task. Minsc, indeed, seems to have taken a great liking to the girl. Patricia then stood for a few minutes with her eyes closed; face impassive as ever. When her eyes opened, she told Nalia that we were anxious to help, but we had a pressing matter before us that could brook no delay, and it would not be possible for us to leave before the morrow. Was Nalia willing to take that chance? With an eagerness I found strange from so young a girl of her position, she offered to accompany us on our search for the slavers. After studying her intently for some moments further, Patricia agreed. I am not sure this was wise, given the girl’s obvious naivete, but the choice was not mine to make.

This all occupied rather more time than we wished, and it was mid-morning before we were able to plunge into the dank maze of passages at the back of the tavern. Nalia turns out to be nearly as good a shot as you, my dear sister, but then country ladies so often go hunting with their lords that I should not be surprised. How well I remember practicing with you for hours upon hours in the back garden whenever Father left town for a few days! Mother was always so patient with us. I know she hated having me turn my attention to the sling, but what else could I do when I was accepted into Helm’s service?

I shall not distress you with a blow-by-blow account of our journey, as I know such things are not to your taste. Suffice it to say that we encountered little resistance in our search for the entrance to the slavers’ stockade. A few token forces of hobgoblins and kobolds had been stationed through the corridors, but there was little challenge there. I did notice that Jaheira seemed to be having an inordinate amount of trouble with one of the hobgoblin shamans, but that half-elven woman has behaved so strangely ever since we met that I cannot judge what her usual form might be. I believe she has spoken scarce fifty words, and most of those barely civil.

The slavers themselves were another breed. Hard-bitten men all, they were not easy to take. Their “Captain” in particular, one Haegan, was highly skilled; Minsc and Nalia combined forces against him, Nalia laying down a withering stream of arrows while Minsc forced him to concentrate on hand-to-hand defense. Patricia and I launched ourselves almost as one against another man with the foul symbol of Cyric across his chest, and I finally got a better view of her style. She is incredibly fast, Moira. I would never have expected it from her build. Training alone must have accomplished this, for it is obvious that she relies on speed for much of her defense, parrying a blow almost before it is begun, then twisting her sword to execute an attack of her own. Many times she was simply not there when an opponent’s weapon completed its stroke. I have seen bards fight something like this, but her movements are different. This is not fencing, but something unique in my experience; almost a dance. Where she could have learned this interests me exceedingly. The only thing I recall like it was a Kara-Turan I once met, but obviously Patricia is not from that far-off land.

Once we had the Captain and the priest down, the other guards in the chamber were easily handled. We were scouting the chamber when Patricia suddenly grabbed my arm, yanking me back. “Trap,” she said, pointing at a hairline crack in the next floorboard. “Jan, see what you can do with it.” Even the gnome gave her a startled look of respect as he bent to the task of disarming it. Surely she cannot be a thief? Everything else in her behavior decries it; she speaks of authority with the utmost respect. Moira, the mystery is beginning to drive me mad. Who--- what--- IS this woman? Once the main room was cleared of traps, we cautiously opened the door to a room to the east, where we had heard ominous scratchings and whimperings.

At once two trolls were upon us, with their long-clawed hands raking at our faces. Patricia managed to duck under one’s arms and come up behind them, clearing the doorway for myself and Minsc to work in. The worst thing about trolls, sister, is that their height allows them to get in a downward blow that can be hard to deflect. That and their stubborn unwillingness to die. Still, with a little help in the form of fire arrows from Lady Nalia, this chamber was soon cleared as well. Here we found the first of the children. Patricia already had a little girl in her arms while the rest of us were insuring that the trolls were well and truly dead. After quickly checking them for injuries and finding naught worse than bruises, she pronounced them fit to move. These slavers seem to have had a wide ring, bringing these children all the way from Scornubel. The oldest were given clear directions through the maze of tunnels and all sent packing as fast as they could go. The route was still clear to the Copper Coronet, and Hendak has now taken charge of them. The rest of us were not so fortunate; Minsc, Patricia, and I were all somewhat the worse for wear, though the wounds were easily healed.

North of the room we had first entered was a hallway reached by a set of stairs. On either side were more rooms full of children, which were quickly and silently emptied of their human cargo. Jan found another trap at the end of the hallway, and was spotted by a huge snake-like creature while removing it. By Helm’s grace it chose to chase him without raising the alarm, so it plunged straight into our midst, where we handily dispatched it.

The next rooms yielded more formidable opponents, where the unconventional abilities of Jan’s crossbow were revealed to me. Somehow he has rigged it to fire a sort of flash-bang device that temporarily stuns and blinds its victims. The arcane means by which this is accomplished is beyond me, but it certainly made our task easier, as there were several wizards in this last group of opponents, all of whom were sorely discomfited by these “Flashers”. Lady Nalia also revealed herself to be a student of the magical arts, using a well-timed Magic Missile to finish off a bowman that appeared bent on turning Jaheira into something resembling our old governess Minna’s pincushion. Perhaps she is not quite so helpless as I had thought. Though we searched all the drawers and tables afterwards, we were unable to find any reference to the higher levels that must exist in the organization. I should have liked to know which members of the bureaucracy are involved in this, so they might be properly humbled! Again I must conclude that the Order would make a better guardian of the public interest than our current rulers.

My dear sister, only now do I realize how late I have sat up and how many sheets I have scrawled over in relating all this to you. I should not have punished you with such a heavy tale. I just wanted you to know what has befallen me, as Helm willing the group will wish me to accompany them to the de’Arnise lands tomorrow, and I do not know how long it will be before I may write again. May Helm watch over you and guard your steps, as you have always been my best friend and closest confidante. You know I will not oppose your own wishes, but are you sure you do not want to visit Mother’s cousin Violet for a month or two? She has often said she would like your company during the summer, and Father cannot deny you a short change of scene. Know that I will always love you, no matter how poor the terms Father and I remain on.

				Yours always,
				Anomen